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Competitive Management

Dr. Tony Alessandra discusses the importance of understanding your competitive advantages in order to differentiate yourself from competitors. He states that if customers cannot tell the difference between your product or service and a competitor's, they will make their purchasing decision based on price alone. The document provides examples of competitive advantages, such as unique features or superior quality, and advises analyzing your own offerings in terms of competitive uniqueness, advantages, parity, and disadvantages in order to clearly articulate what differentiates you to customers. It emphasizes incorporating your unique selling points into every step of the sales process, from targeting customers to assuring their satisfaction.

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30 views15 pages

Competitive Management

Dr. Tony Alessandra discusses the importance of understanding your competitive advantages in order to differentiate yourself from competitors. He states that if customers cannot tell the difference between your product or service and a competitor's, they will make their purchasing decision based on price alone. The document provides examples of competitive advantages, such as unique features or superior quality, and advises analyzing your own offerings in terms of competitive uniqueness, advantages, parity, and disadvantages in order to clearly articulate what differentiates you to customers. It emphasizes incorporating your unique selling points into every step of the sales process, from targeting customers to assuring their satisfaction.

Uploaded by

apa_a
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dr.

Tony Alessandra

How many times have you been in a selling situation


where the customer's sole focus was on price?

Anytime your customers can't tell the difference


between your product or service and your competitor's
product or service, the customer will buy based on price.
You must be able to differentiate your company, your
product, your quality, your service, and yourself if you
want the customer to stop focusing on price and start
seeing you as a partner, and not just as a supplier.
You've got to show him how you are different.
He traveled around the country giving keynote speeches the past
22 years, He had been so amazed to find how many salespeople
do not know and cannot articulate their competitive advantage to
their prospects and customers!

How can they expect their prospects and customers to give them
their time and attention when they cannot tell them in a concise
way what they can do for them that no one else can do?
Companies or sales reps who don't understand their competitive
advantage say things like, "Our product is better quality" or "Our
service is better.“

Even if a company is has better quality or better service, it won't


convince its customers just by saying so because many of it's
competitors will be saying the exact same thing! You have to
define quality. You have to show what outstanding service looks
like and how your service differs from the competition.
If you were an account executive of an average car
dealer company, and I ask you what you do for a living.

What would say?


So what should the businessperson who
understands his competitive advantage say?

How about this for the car dealer.

"My name is Mike from Competitive Motors. We've


found that there is a lot of confusion in the
automotive market today because there have been
over 150 new models introduced in just the past
three years. We've developed a computer book that
profiles everything the buyer wants in a car and in
less than five minutes, identifies the models most
likely to fit their needs."
Your Statement of Competitive Advantage has
four components:

• your name

• your company

• a statement about a typical problem experienced


in your target market

• an intriguing statement about how you can help


solve that problem

The statement of competitive advantage is a 30-


second statement of what differentiates your
company in the marketplace.
The best way to determine your competitive advantage
is to first break down the components of your product
or service into four distinct categories, Competitive
uniquenesses, competitive advantages, competitive
parities, and competitive disadvantages.
Competitive Uniqueness:
What can I do for my customers that no one else can
do? What can I offer that no one else can offer?

Competitive advantage:
What can I do for my customer that my competitor
can also do, but I can do it better and I can prove it?

Competitive parity:
My competitors and I are the same here -- no real
differentiation.

Competitive disadvantage:
Where does the competition have an advantage over
me?
Let's say a pharmaceutical company just got FDA
approval to sell a new drug. This company now has
a competitive uniqueness with this drug, no one else
has it.

An example of a competitive advantage might be


where two companies market the same drug, but
one is a large well-known company and the other is
a small relatively unknown company.
What do you have that is exactly like the
competition but is still important to the customer?
Birth control pills are a good example. Several
ethical drug companies make different formulations,
but all with similar records for preventing
pregnancy. This is competitive parity

What does the competition do better than you do?


Your drug may have more side effects than the
competitor's. That's a competitive disadvantage.
Say for example, that you are selling a fax machine
that is plain paper, that's (parity), because others do
too. But yours will interface with your phone,
computer or car telephone, that's (uniqueness).
Yours also has the highest resolution available,
that's an (advantage), 300 number memory, another
(advantage), but it will not do broadcasting and
polling, that's a (disadvantage).
Federal Express will get it there over night, but so will
other companies, so that's (parity), by ten-thirty (used
to be an advantage but now that's also parity). But
FedEx has a provable better track record, an
(advantage), and they can tell you in real time, exactly
where your package is, that's a (uniqueness).
By doing this analysis you'll be in a position to
help your customers distinguish between you and
your competition. Once they see your
uniquenesses and advantages, it will be easier for
them to make a decision in your favor.
You can see now why it's so important to know what
you have to offer that's unique. But you may be
wondering, what you'll do with that information once
you have it? How will you get it across to the client?
You're going to use this information in every step of
the sale. Your entire selling effort will be built around
your competitive strengths.

When you are targeting your market, you'll be looking


for those clients whose needs are most likely to match
your uniquenesses and advantages.

When you contact clients you'll open the conversation


by letting your clients know what you can do for them
that no one else can do.
During the exploring phase, you'll be asking questions that
will uncover client needs in the areas where you have
uniquenesses & advantages.
When you are collaborating with the client, you'll keep the
clients focused on your uniquenesses and advantages and
show him how they match his needs.

During the commitment phase, you'll be summarizing all of


the competitive advantages that your product has to offer
and during the assuring phase, you'll be measuring how well
your uniquenesses and advantages are serving your
customer.
If you clearly know your competitive advantages and
uniqueness and are able to articulate them clearly to
prospective customers, you will rise above your
competition to make more sales, more profits and
more long-term satisfied customers.

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